Michelin’s Southeast Asia launch has Singapore seeing stars

From French fine-dining to frantic food stalls, the first Michelin stars to fall in Southeast Asia have reinvigorated the local food scene

Credit: Restaurant Andre

Last night’s launch of the prestigious Michelin Guide in Singapore marks the first appearance of the foodie’s holy book in Southeast Asia, scattering stars from the highest of haute cuisine to the raucous charm of the city-state’s food stalls.

Singapore’s iconic hawker culture was honoured at last night’s awards ceremony – held, of course, alongside a black tie gala dinner in the ballroom of the upmarket Resorts World Sentosa – with two local food stalls receiving a star apiece in the guide.

Also recognised was the Singapore chapter of French chef Joël Robuchon’s culinary empire, whose eponymous restaurant had the distinction of being Singapore’s only recipient of the coveted three stars. Another restaurant of Robuchon’s, L’Atelier Robuchon, was among the six restaurants to receive two stars. A further 22 establishments received a single star.

For Ivan Brehm, head chef of Bacchanalia, which was awarded one star, Michelin’s Southeast Asian launch could be just the thing to reinvigorate a scene that has seen exclusive fine-dining establishments threaten to eclipse the local food culture.

“I think as far as the guide’s relevance locally, I don’t think it could have come at a better time,” he told Southeast Asia Globe. “It will have, we hope, a very positive impact on reviving the interest in the local food tradition and the hawker culture which has been having a little bit of difficulty in the past few years.”

Brehm put the decline, in part, down to a lack of enthusiasm for traditional hawker culture in Singapore’s younger demographics.

“Hopefully Michelin will bring a little more interest in that,” he said.

Andre Chiang, the French-trained Taiwanese chef-cum-philosopher who opened his critically acclaimed Restaurant Andre just less than six years ago, was ecstatic to see Singapore’s lauded food scene receiving more international attention.

“I truly believe Singapore has so much local talent with the full package of creativity and professionalism that deserve the recognition and is just waiting to be discovered,” he said in a statement.

For Brehm, the rating is a welcome vindication of years of hard work in a city of fierce competition.

“It’s a very small community and everyone’s an expert,” he laughed. “For us, I’ve never really thought of the competition so much as trying to stay true to what we believe in.”